UPDATE: Apple appears to have backed down, allowing EyeTV back into the iPhone app store, complete with its 3G streaming abilities. Read the full story.

UPDATE: Just hours after the story below went live, Apple pulled the EyeTV app from the iPhone app store. Elgato has since submitted a revised version, without the offending code to allow 3G streaming, and expects it to be back on sale soon. Read the full story.

We went ga-ga for the EyeTV iPhone app, but our singular complaint was that live telly could only be streamed over a Wi-Fi connection. Now we’ve discovered a backdoor built into the EyeTV iPhone app to allow TV shows to be viewed even if you’re on a 3G connection. Read on, and we’ll show you how.

Elgato’s EyeTV app requires you register your Mac to its free My EyeTV service in order to tap into broadcasts outside the house, but use it when your iPhone has only a 3G connection and you’ll see an error pop up, warning that “Live TV playback requires a Wi-Fi network connection.”

Tap the OK button, and the app will act as if it can’t receive broadcasts. However, tap the text of the warning message instead, and the Eye TV app will stream live TV over a 3G connection.

The backdoor method of streaming TV via 3G connections is likely to have slipped past Apple’s approval process, as on first impressions it appears Elgato’s app blocks streaming outside of Wi-Fi connections. It’ll please telly fans though, letting them tap into Freeview programmes on the go, no matter where they are.

Those likely to be less impressed are mobile operators, who frequently warn that streaming video over their networks will use a large amount of data and could breach their acceptable use policies.